Monthly Archives: January 2014

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Since mid-August, I’ve been experimenting with using a timer on a watch that perpetually goes off every however-long-I-set-it-for throughout the day. I began with it going off every 15 minutes, then every 9, and in December it went off every 7 minutes. Let me tell you, December was phenomenal time! Every 7 minutes, while awake (after meditation and hatha yoga in the morning), I’d stop to take several deep breaths into the heart, thinking about God, expressing gratitude for some of this wonderful abundance ;-), and laughing and dancing. So every 7 minutes I was basically having a personal party and anyone around me was certainly invited to join in on the fun.

So why did I stop using the watch to keep me feeling wonderful? Inspired by a great book called The Circle Makerby Mark Batterson, I made a list of God-glorifying goals, the idea being that these goals can only be achieved with divine intervention – so you can imagine these were some pretty hefty goals! One such goal on the list was to spend a month in silence, largely because I think God speaks to us in the silence and practicing silence is a great way to open up to receiving guidance and light for the path. Shortly after identifying this as a goal, my mother shared with me the idea of going on a retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, a place where a brotherhood of monks practice silence throughout the day, aside for the 7 times a day that they gather to pray and glorify God. Essentially, they’re in silence except when they’re singing or reading scripture…pretty darn holy way of life if you ask me 😉

I decided that a good initial step to potentially jumping into a month of silence would be to spend a week in silence, so I embarked on a journey to the abbey in early January. Five days spent there were incredibly peaceful and filled with light and love and understanding. Sure enough, these monks, by practicing silence and gathering seven times a day in prayer found a path to achieve higher consciousness, perhaps even perpetual consciousness of God, which was largely the same thing I’ve been working with using the watch. So, thanks to this wonderful Creation, I was showed one way of pursuing God-Consciousness without having a watch beep at you every 7 minutes.

The monk way of living to me is appealing to me in many ways. It’s hard to beat a way of life that is so blatantly holy and centered around God as theirs. One thing though, that I find humorous as much as anything else, is that they work these monks perform, when not praying or studying scripture, is producing cheese, fudge, and fruitcake! So if we want to know the source of America’s obesity epidemic, we may not need to look any further…

Jokes aside, those monks totally rocked. I remember hearing the bells ring at the Abbey, 5 minutes before it was time for prayer, and part of me thought I wanted to stay in the room and continue to reflect and/or study. Then it hit me – whatever I could possibly doing, even if I’m onto the most brilliant though of the century, God will certainly allow me to reconnect with that flow if I take a break to pray with people. You can never go wrong with choosing prayer! And when I realized that, – boom! – a hefty dose of liberation filled me up. Fascinating how the ego can try to reason it’s way out of praying with 40 people in a church, thinking the working of the mind is more valuable. Thankfully the Higher Self triumphs.

Many great experiences at the abbey, of which I will not recount here, but I will share that first thing that happened when I left the abbey. Got in the car, started dully humming some tune, and then began to cry. Not sure what exactly prompted the tears, but I’m thinking it might have been a deep subconscious joy in reclaiming the freedom to use the voice outside of the church at the abbey. The voice is really a beautiful thing, and the more we use it consciously, the more we create the type of world we all want to live in. A Jewish friend of mine shared with me the Hebrew word for ‘Word,’ pronounced something like ‘davar,’ and sure enough, in Hebrew, ‘davar’ not only means ‘word,’ but it also means ‘thing.’ Hence, in the beginning was the Word! Our Word is incredibly creative and powerful, and I think the more we honor the creative power of the Word, the more we’ll create a world in which we are honored to be a part of. Words and Things are really not so different after all.

Without the watch beeping, and without being in the Abbey anymore, I was on a serious quest for finding a way to keep my consciousness high – awake and aware of that wonderful Presence that is always with us. In the past, I’d been good about remaining highly conscious by being aware that “Peace is Every Step,” courtesy of Thich Nhat Hanh, but going slowly for some reason wasn’t resonating with me so much. Perhaps all the laughing and the dancing shifted the vibe a bit. Anyway, I decided to take to an old method I’d come across several years ago but never applied thoroughly. The idea is to carry an index card with you at all times that has your major definite purpose / deepest desire on it, and on the back of it you have some of the words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. So to share, the card I’ve been carrying say,

” Know the Truth and do the will of the Most High.

Serve in the Light of Truth. Live in Wisdom.

Holiness. Sainthood. Boddhisattva. Oneness.

Perceive the Perfection. Glorify the Most High.

Live enlightened and teach Higher Consciousness

to open and willing students; primarily

by example, and if necessary, using words. 🙂

Breathe. Smile. Go Slowly. Renounce + Enjoy!

Lead with Love. Grow. Explore. Expand. Evolve.”

and on the back it says…

“ Ask and you shall receive.

Seek and you shall find.

Knock and the door shall be opened.

For anyone who asketh, receiveth;

and to him that seeketh, findeth;

to him that knocketh, the door shall open.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen.”

In past attempts to carry a card similar to this on me, I generally find the card severely wrinkled after a few days, and so – as a preventative measure – and because I had great respect for what I decided to put on this card – I laminated the card with tape. Sure enough, the card remains intact and in good condition to this day! I look at it several times throughout the day, including when I wake and before I go to sleep. I’m also carrying several other note cards that have a bit of knowledge / wisdom that I find valuable and good to be reminded of, so all these cards working together have done a good job of helping me remember what matters most.

Also, this month I’ve connected strongly with the work of David Hawkins as well as Eckhart Tolle, two spiritual teachers who help people come into the Sacred Presence that is Here & Now. Synchronistically, both teachers talk about Satcidananda – this enlightened state of being, known as the unity of Truth / Knowledge / Bliss, or as Eckhart translates it, Being / Consciousness / Bliss. Nonetheless, the one great thing about both teachers mentioning Satcidananda is that Satcidananda was also the name of the guru at the ashram where I studied Integral Yoga…sooo Wahe Guru!!! 🙂

Ah yes, a couple more great events / ideas that came back to my consciousness during this month. The wonderful cousin Tara and I talked about Kundalini Yoga, in which she reminded me not only of the importance of breathe but also of the mantra ‘Wahe Guru’ which is a chant I learned at yoga training and used to chant it regularly with abundant joy, but for some reason stopped. Anyway, I started chanting that again, which succeeds every time in bringing a good feeling. Essentially, I understand it as “I’m so grateful for thank you Lord!” Who can really ever say enough of that? And chanting anything makes it so much easier.

I suppose the best personal teacher for me this month has been Baja, an enlightened being, sometimes referred to as a dog. In the process of giving my car to a friend (Hallelujah freeing self from material possessions!), I was gifted the fortune of spending a week at his place, sharing the space with the enlightened Baja. Baja showed me once again how to embrace all things as though new, to be excited by life in all it’s forms, and to embrace the world with a sense of curiosity and fascination. Tuning into the senses and acknowledging the energy that flows through all life as alive – like you! – is a great practice for remaining practice.

Lastly, as far as meditation goes…it’s been a challenge. Sitting hasn’t been so easy, and practicing self-inquiry by asking “Who Am I?” hasn’t been producing super good vibes, not that there’s anything wrong with that…alas! Huge gift came my way today when I asked a friend if there was anything specific I should meditate on, and then followed up by asking what was on her heart. She asked for a miracle for her daughter.

Did you catch it? Miracles! Meditating on miracles – it’s one awesome place to be. Instead of practicing a mantra, I emphasized smiling throughout the entire meditation, embracing “Fake it until you make it,” knowing that if the external is aligned harmoniously, the internal must follow soon enough. So there I was, smiling and thinking about miracles happening, and also thinking about the joy and even greater faith that would follow as a result. It was awesome!!!

…

Another huge idea that’s been resonating strongly the past few days…live each day like it’s your last one! Or even like it’s your first and your last. And this essentially looks like appreciating what is in front of you, admiring the life that flows around you, either in the form of people or plants or birds. Life is awesome, but when we live as if we’ve got 80 more years left on the clock, we forget about the miracles that are before us. Like beauty, miracles are in the eyes of the beholder. If we want, we can live a world of miracles, seeing awesomeness unfolding around us. It’s all perspective, as a new friend Katherine reminded me. It’s all perspective! We choose how we perceive the world. And, if we desire, we can perceive beauty and miracles and wonderful life all around us, filling ourselves with infinite reasons to experience joy and peace and deep love and appreciation for what is before us Here & Now.

…

Recently started to read The Imitation of Christ, powerful book…and the author is sort of selling me on the idea of suffering for God. At the same time, I think God wants us to enjoy and flourish and love and dance and all that abundance 🙂 So, I suppose the balance is investing in the short run, which may cause a bit of pain, for a long term, abundant reaping. Thinking about how this could shape my next 30 day experiment…it looks like it will take the form of committing to writing for at least 1 hour every day, with the thoughts centered around reflecting on life stories and lessons discerned. Almost 24 years old (embodied ;-)), I think it’s a perfect time to commence an extensive process of reflecting and discerning whatever wisdom there is from various experiences of my life. The idea of ‘story’ has been strongly syncing up recently too, so instead of some of the more abstract writing I enjoy, the writing I’m committing to will be exclusively based on real life events. I’m also more inclined to hand write than type on these good ole devices, and given that handwriting is a bit slower, I’ll probably be way more frugal and concise with the words – might even turn into more of a poetic structure – so it’s a win/win for all parties!

Okay…

Key principles that sync’d up during this month, as far as staying connected with God and doing Good Work goes:

–> Silence. Dogs: learn from them, emulate them. You must be Present to Win! We learn best from stories, and as it says in Sirach,

“Remember the end of your days and you shall never sin.”

Here’s to living in the Presence of Wonderful Life and Inevitably, likely equally Wonderful, Death. Remember – it’s all a matter of perspective 🙂 Embrace the subjectivity!

Meanwhile, time to honor the Sabbath. Very excited to not use a pen for a whole day. Ah, these fingers could use a break. However, these hips are totally not getting a break, because I’m totally going to be sitting in full lotus during this abundant Sabbath 🙂

Infinite Love, Light, Compassion, and Gratitude to All! Hallel Yah! You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you Free!

Last night I tried my Self at some prayer. Generally, the more contemplative side of my spiritual practice consists of expressing gratitude, setting intentions, casting a vision for a more abundant and beautiful future, and meditation. I usually don’t engage in too much of what I’d specifically call “prayer,” but perhaps that’s just ego trying to detach from a Catholic upbringing, which nowadays I am completely at peace with and even think those Catholics were on to something pretty good 😉 So it goes.

Anyway, I wrote down on my to-do list for yesterday, “Pray,” so I figured I should better pray, whatever that means. I find good things happen when I abide in the truth of my plans, almost as though God receives them and goes about harmonizing the universe to allow for the fulfillment of everything I set out to do. I find that the more clearly I decide what I will do and what I want, the more abundantly I receive all that I ask for. Of course, what is true for me is also true for me, if you let it be 🙂 Might as well believe that you can receive anything you ask for, so get on asking! Asking as clearly as possible makes it easier for your mind and for the Universe to understand and manifest accordingly.

So back to my attempt at “Pray.” When I saw it on the to-do list I was reminded of an acronym taught in Sunday School.

P.R.A.Y. = Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield.

Praise: was smooth enough – I try and do that a lot. Gratitude is a win/win.

Repent: for me that was mostly being grateful for forgiveness and being under grace, not law.

Asking: that was more of being grateful for the goodness that here and also coming more abundantly ;-).

Yield: ah, here was the tricky one. I wasn’t quite sure what it meant to yield. So I just sat there for a moment, thinking about meditating with a mantra, but instead I decided to do my best to remain still, externally and internally, while also mentally saying something like, “This is me yielding, God. I am yielding…”

Within maybe a second of this practice, I received, “Forget Everything.”

What?!?

I probably would have benefited by sitting there longer, but really the “Forget Everything” sort of scared the jeepers out of me so I stopped.

A bit later in the night, I went to the journal and sought to discern what it could mean to “Forget Everything,” and why that might be a valuable idea.

I realized that the idea of knowing anything ultimately detracts from experiencing the fullness of life. Socrates developed his wisdom by embracing his ignorance, proclaiming, “The one thing I know is that I know nothing.” Similarly, Jesus experienced great peace by his attitude towards people, saying, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Basically saying we commit ‘sins’ or ‘lesser acts’ because we don’t know, and in remembering this ignorance, you can forgive unconditionally. Essentially, forget everything but your own ignorance, and the ignorance of everyone, then you’ll be all set!

Jesus also asks us to become like little children to enter the Kingdom. Why? Children know nothing! And in knowing nothing, they know the wonder of that which is before them. Children are infinitely curious and fascinated with the world, people, all forms of life! They might even be as curious as dogs who go around sniffing every surface they can get their noses on. Imagine if us humans went around smelling everything, that curious, that fully embracing our ignorance. Writing, this, I just decided to smell the computer. I already feel better than before. 😉

Forgetting everything is similar to saying the past is dead and you know nothing. We can easily define our present based on our past, but isn’t it more fun to allow the present to be reborn each moment, free from the past?

Throughout our lifetimes, we’ve become pretty accustomed to moving these physical bodies; however, if you really slow down, you can even allow yourself to be amazed by the movement of the physical body. Forget what you know about how to move. Freeze. And slowly begin to move just one finger. Wonder at how the heck you are doing that! I used to watch a bit of TV and a lot of Family Guy, and there’s an episode where Peter stares at chair, saying something like, “I forget how to sit,” and then spontaneously collapses, crushing the chair to the floor. Beautiful, right?

Take a moment to stand in front of a chair and sit down very slowly. Feel all those different muscles that are flexing and moving to allow that body to relax down. It is truly amazing! Ahh, and then to feel those buns relax down. Good feelings all around.

In some ways, it seems like we’re all on a quest for Truth, yet on this journey it’s easy to forget how much we already have before us and the wonders of the gifts freely bestowed upon us at birth.

The best things in life are free, but how often do we forget this and pursue things beyond our free gifts? Let’s practice forgetting everything else, and remember perhaps just this one thing. 🙂

Gandhi, when asked to give his prescription for success in three words, not being one to back down from a challenge, responded, “Renounce and Enjoy.” I think he could have just as easily said, “Forget and Enjoy.”

Forget the ego for a moment and that hefty investment in the intellectual education, and allow yourself to be educated with wonder, beauty, and the full experience of that which is before you.

Forget Everything! If only for a minute. Move your body slowly like you don’t know how. Look at people as if this is the first time you’ve ever seen another human being. Inspect the pages of a book, allowing yourself to be fascinated by the texture of the pages and the shapes of the letters on the pages. Become a child again!

Whatever you want to follow “We are” is entirely up to you. Let me just assure you, it’s not a fact!

Nothing is really assured or guaranteed aside from being in this present moment. And that’s frikkin’ beautiful!

Being is beyond duality. It’s beyond judgment. The human mind likes to place labels and definitions on things that ultimately constrict the expression of the truth, which is the reality of being. For example, right now I’m writing while standing at a kitchen counter. In front of me is what you might call a blender. A blender, as you know, has many parts to it. There’s the lid, blender jar, and base. Then you can break each one of those parts down into even smaller parts. The base, for example, contains a motor, and how many things are in a motor???? Many many! So many, really, that very few people (relatively) could probably name of every part of it, and so the word “motor” just like the word “blender” is our attempt to label what ultimately goes beyond our understanding.

Words, as William Faulkner once said, are shapes to fill a lack. Words never capture the fullness of any situation. The only way to fully experience something is to experience it with your being. Talking about the blender and it’s parts and describing it in detail might help you create an accurate mental image of it, but you still won’t know the exact blender. Even if I took a picture of it and sent it to you, your experience of the blender is different than mine, largely because your experience is more than the blender, but it is the entirety of your present moment. The experience is beyond the blender but actually encompasses a totality of everything in your present moment in relationship to everything else, and you can expand that all the way out to the infinite edges of the universe.

Practicing mindfulness and single-pointedness of mind, you might be able marshal your full attention to the picture I sent you of the blender and allow that to be the entirety of your experience in the Here & Now, but that will still be different than my experience. The best part about this is that no one’s experience is any better than any others. Experience is simply experience. If you want to attach labels and definitions to it you can, but wouldn’t you rather be free to experience it fully? Why pigeon-hole when you can bask in the fullness?

The human mind loves to label and define, seeking to understand how one experience relates to another and what it’s significance is in your life. We are meaning making machines, as a friend once shared with me. Finding meaning in any situation is a wonderful power we have, yet let’s also remember that you can always let go of meaning and simply experience the Here & Now,Being with What Is. The Here & Now doesn’t have to be anything; it simply Is. You Are. We Are!

Great! We are. What next? Enjoy 🙂 When you are being with yourself in the fullness of the present moment, you’re allowed to accept everything that is, moving beyond any labels or judgment. Help yourself to a liberating scoop of humility and be like Socrates, gracefully exclaiming, “The only thing I know is that I know nothing!” Embrace ignorance and open up the what the Here & Now is offering you.

We are. We are. We are. Descartes once said, “I think, therefore I am.” But why even insist on, “I think” ? Let’s simply embrace the “I am” and live in this moment. Existing in this present moment, Being Here & Now, is by itself totally awesome and completely miraculous.

One of the greatest values of accepting the “We are,” and the “I am,” is that ultimately you are free from your judgments. If you ever find yourself judging, you can step back for a moment and observe the ego exercising it’s attempt to create separation. then, moving back into the space of “We are,” and “I am,” you remember there is only unity and oneness. Forget the ego and identifying with the body. Instead, remember who you are really and embrace the present moment, because you’re being with all of it! You are an experience. Consciousness.

Labels and definitions and judgments can help us to understand things to move us forward in creating a more compassionate world, and that’s what they should be used for. If you ever find yourself using labels, definitions, or judgments to create separation, let go of them. Separation is not compassion. Unity is 🙂 We are!

p.s. The idea for this post was partially inspired by listening to a beautiful song titled “Down to the River to Pray.” You can listen to it here. In the song, the singer calls to sisters, brothers, and finally sinners to come down to the river to pray. While listening to it, it hit me that you can call people whatever you want, but ultimately that doesn’t make it true. Also, there’s nothing to say that being called a ‘sinner’ is an inherently bad label. It only is ‘bad’ if you consider it ‘bad.’ Or, you can just let it be. Let it be a word. A sound. And maybe consider the origin of all words. “In the beginning was the Word.”

Also, listening to the song and hearing the call to sinners to come down to the river to pray, I realized the singer is basically addressing everyone when sinners are mentioned, and so if we’re all sinners, then we’re all equal; equally sinners and equally saints. No one can escape the equality of us all! We are equal in our being Here & Now. We are 🙂

What if every step you took during the day moved you in the direction of greater and greater happiness? Might that be an incentive enough for you to walk around a bit more and soak in some of the beauty of nature and the magnificence of life all around you? Imagine, every step you take, you can think “I’m getting a little bit happier with each step,” or even “I can feel myself growing and happier and happier with every step I take.” When you keep in mind that 10,000 steps a day is a general prescription for a happier life, you can really begin to feel how each step does make you a bit happier.

And if you’re curious what happens beyond 10,000 steps, I’m not too sure. It might be bliss. Allow experience to be the mother of your wisdom. Life is the great teacher 🙂

p.s. The idea of “10,000 steps to happiness” was first shared with me by a friend who read about in a book titled The Happiness Project. Amazing, we can really learn anything! Whether you want to learn how to be charming, attract your perfect mate, experience inner-peace, or even something so simple as happiness. You can learn it. What a gift! Extraordinary what we can do. Infinite potential is within us all.

Thich Nhat Hanh has a concise prescription for success in life: “Breathe, smile, and go slowly.” And this man seems to be one of the rare few who actually practices what he preaches. Watching him being interviewed by Oprah, at one point he shared that it takes him one hour to drink a cup of tea. Initially, that might sound a bit insane, but he might also think the same thing of us if he sees us drink our tea in 3 minutes, or chug a soda in 30 seconds – even worse – shotgun a beer ;-). Then again, I get the feeling Thich Nhat Hanh has moved beyond judgment and would simply accept our actions for whatever they are. By his choice of drinking a cup of tea in one hour, he is simply doing what he believes is best for him. My guess is he advocates that we all do what we believe is best. Nothing less than the best! And what is best? Well, discovering that begins with the simplicity of “Breathe, smile, and go slowly.”

In any situation, if you have the presence of mind to consciously stop and take a few deep breathes, you’ll notice that any negative emotions quickly dissipate. In a book titled, Science of Breath, the author Swami Rama asserts that no negative emotion can be help onto while practicing deep, conscious breathing. When we connect with our breath, we move ourselves in the present moment, and in the present moment there is nothing but love. The past is dead, the future is imaginary. When consciously breathing, all you can be sure of is that you are Here & Now, and that is always more than enough. 🙂

Just being is amazing. Life is extraordinary. We are miracles. Yet, how often do we life with this awareness? When people ask me how old I am, I generally think of the age of the universe and think, “I’m about 14.5 billion years old.” Of course, it seems like most people are actually how old is this physical body / how long have I been embodied. In reality, our existence demanded the entirety of existence. Without everything that is come before, unfolding exactly as it has, what’s to say either one of us would be Here & Now? The technology, intelligence, and wisdom present in the functioning of these human bodies we move around in is totally awesome. As far as we can tell, the human body is the most advanced piece of technology on the planet. That’s you! You are way more advanced than any computer or satellite.

Think about it this way. Human civilization has technologically been advancing with external inventions for maybe 10,000 years (or maybe even 100,000, why not a million?) . Your body, on the other hand, has been advanced by the entirety of Creation and took more than 14 billion years to come into existence! You exist thanks to the power of love unfolding in the universe in a perfect way. You are the miracle. You are worthy of reverence and infinite love and compassion and gratitude. There is nothing more amazing in the universe than you. Unlike an iPhone, no human being possesses the technology to invent you. You were only made by a power much greater than any human being, yet this power is in every one of us, and that is love. Love made you.

So then, we are made of Love perfectly loving for more than 14 billion years (at least…we might be able to say infinity). Why are we? What is our major definite purpose? I think realizing the truth of who and what we are is a start. In Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book, There is a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, as well as in the Bhagavad Gita, there is a claim that the source of all human suffering is forgetting our relationship with the eternal. When we remember our eternal nature and who we really are, we can experience only peace and love (and all those other good things :-)). In a way, I think this means that our purpose is to tune our awareness so that we are forever conscious of our eternal connection with the Divine. Just as the Divine Power of Love created us, so now we are empowered to create with the Power of Love (and also other “lesser” powers, but let’s not talk about those!). Us existing demanded Love evolving for 14 billion years, and then poof – we’re created. And now, we’re conscious Love able to consciously create more Love. It’s as though we’re a microcosm of the entire Universe. Everything that’s ever existed has all accumulated to this point in space and time, and Here we are, Now, able to create whatever we desire. Especially when we align with Love, which is our nature, possibilities are infinite.

How do you want to use your life to create Love in the world? What do you love to do? How can you become more conscious and aware of your eternal relationship and connection with the Divine?

Could the answer really be so simple as, “Breathe, smile, and go slowly,” ? It just might be. When we breathe, smile, and go slowly, we allow ourselves a greater opportunity to connect and be in this Present Moment, which indeed is a Wonderful Moment, full of Infinite Potential and Possibility. Open to the Infinite Love that is Here & Now!

Another way it’s been said…”All you have to do is desire it.” Whatever it is – with a strong enough desire – a BURNING desire – anything is possible.

What is it you want to do?

Know the Truth and serve the Highest Good of All. Glorify God and the Goodness of all Creation. So…more specifically?

Teach simple truths to college students that inspire them to pursue the Truth and to live in wisdom, cherishing the body and mind as a temple and a gift of the Highest Order, revering all Life and being so grateful for each and every moment, open to all as a teacher and an opportunity to learn, love, grow, evolve, and become better and better!

Of course…I say teach these things…and really…it’s just a matter of…living it myself 🙂 The most effective way to teach anything is by example.

So really, I want to live it! I want to revere all of Life, love everyone and everything unconditionally, cherish each and every moment, and continue to learn and grow and expand and evolve for the entire time I am embodied in this human form.

Wisdom – Truth – Light – Love – Peace – Joy – all these things lead to consciousness and the discovery of a friendly, supportive, and totally abundant universe which operates by law. Who or what created those laws is another question. All I know is…I’m all for it 🙂

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Not only free from fear and doubt and worry and anxiety, but also free to love, to enjoy, to celebrate, to connect deeply in each and every present, wonderful moment, seeing the beautiful in all, hearing the symphony, and soaking in the splendor of Now. Open, open, open, completely open!

Guiding light in life philosophy: Wisdom is good, and experience is the mother of all wisdom! So, experience away my friend 🙂

For a long time I’ve pondered the potential awesomeness of what it’d be like to practice silence for a day, a week, a month, a year, or even a lifetime, yet I’ve never really done it. One time I took a vow of silence for a day as a means of punishing a friend…I know totally not cool…and didn’t even follow through on finishing the day on silence, which I think is ultimately a good thing because I broke the silence out of forgiveness. Alas, this time around, venturing into the silence at Gethsemani, I’m not doing it to punish anyone, but more so to raise my own consciousness and awareness of the mysteries of this universe, including what’d I’d call God and Spirit that flows through everything. I figure, if there is one way to really tune in and listen to whatever message is being communicated to me by the great power that created the universe, silence is the way. Only when we are silent can we really listen.

So, here’s to new experience! To Silence, to God, to being around some crazy holy mad monks ;-), and growing in consciousness, awareness, and understanding.